Captain America 3 ‘Alters The Marvel Universe,’ Says Director — Civil War, Anyone?

Captain America 3 is still in the planning stages, but the creative brain trust behind the next Cap flick is letting slip a few juicy details. Chief among those: the next Captain America film already has a title, and it’s likely going to shake up the Marvel universe just as much as the Winter Soldier did. Civil Warrior, anyone?

The latest tidbits on the third Captain America film come courtesy of Crave Online, which interviewed Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo. The pair earned accolades for their action-packed take on the Star Spangled Avenger, and they say they’re not looking to take a foot off the pedal for Captain America 3. What’s more, they say the title for the third movie has kind of been set not for a few months, but for 10 years.

“If you’ve been talking to Kevin [Feige, President of Marvel Studios], the title has been in place probably for ten years in his brain,” Joe Russo told Crave. “It’s all part of the road map that he’s laid out, and it’s all part of the bigger plan.”

As to when Marvel plans on letting us fans in on the title of the next Captain America film, the Russos say that could come sooner rather than later.

“Yeah,” Joe said, “we’d like to announce the title soon.”

Marvel’s movie titles tend to give a good sense of what will go on in terms of plot. Captain America: The First Avenger, of course, set up the hero as the cornerstone of Marvel’s Avengers franchise, while The Winter Soldier told fans just who they could expect as the movie’s villain. Likewise, Avengers: Age of Ultron lets us in on the villain for that flick, and probably gives us an idea of the scope of Ultron’s power. It is the “Age” of Ultron, after all; not the “afternoon” or “fortnight.”

The Russos, of course, are staying mum on the title for Captain America 3, citing the fabled Marvel Secrecy Enforcers that we’re really starting to think aren’t all that fable-based. They did say, though, that the interconnected nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe means that Captain America 3 is going to have a big impact on the rest of Marvel’s films.

“Usually it’s just one big idea that alters the universe as a whole in some way,” Joe Russo said of Feige’s plans. “That’s the case with [Captain America 3], but as far as villain and story arc and tone, all that stuff is left up to us.”

So the next pivot point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already pretty much set in stone, and the Russos can decide on a smaller scale just what they want to do with Captain America 3. Just what might that pivot point be, though? What sort of title would could they already have that would turn the Marvel Universe on its head?

We’ve already wildly and baselessly speculated on the possibility that Marvel is building toward a movie version of Civil War, and the interview with the Russos is making us even more confident that that might be on target, even if only because we like wildly speculating.

Chris Evans, who plays Captain America in the movies, dipped and dodged when asked in an interview whether we might see Cap leading his own separate team of Avengers in future movies. Perhaps Evans was playing coy, but it’s not too far a stretch to imagine that Captain America and Iron Man could have a falling out, especially given the reports that Iron Man is responsible for the creation of Ultron, the Avengers’ greatest foe.

As to the rest of the interview, the Russos seem to confirm that Anthony Mackie’s Falcon will indeed return for Captain America 3, saying that they’re still looking at “possibilities in terms of how Falcon can move” for future films.

No word, though, on whether Mackie might wind up taking up Captain America’s shield like he did in the comic books. There’s still that Marvel Secrecy Enforcers squad to worry about, after all.

“We can’t. That’s part of our cone of silence. My head would explode,” Joe Russo said. “You saw Scanners, right? Yeah, that’s loosely based on Marvel’s policy.”